Ukrainian officials have responded to Russia’s invasion by calling on Twitter’s trolls to do their worst against the Kremlin.
As Russian tanks began closing in on the capital of Kyiv under a barrage of missile fire, Ukraine’s official account tweeted: ‘Tag @Russia and tell them what you think about them.’
Many users from around the world responded with sincere appeals to Vladimir Putin to ‘end the war’.
Others questioned how effective a Twitter pile-on could be against Russia’s military might, which includes an invasion force of over 100,000 troops and another 180,000 in reserve.
But the thread was soon awash with memes mocking the Russian president and riffing off the hopeless prospect of deterring him with words.
One user wrote: ‘Russia this isn’t you bae, pls stop,’ capped with a heart emoji.
Another recycled a popular meme with the caption: ‘F**k Putin, all my homies hate Putin.’
The most popular reply showed a character from kids’ cartoon Spongebob Squarepants wearing a badge edited to show the words: ‘I really wish I weren’t living through a major historical event right now.’
Many posted mock-ups of Mr Putin made to look like Adolf Hitler, echoing a tweet by Ukraine’s official account earlier in the day consisting of an uncaptioned cartoon of the Nazi leader adoringly stroking the Russian president’s face.
It was followed with another tweet stating: ‘This is not a ‘meme’, but our and your reality right now.’
Ukraine’s twitter feed has otherwise focused on highlighting its citizens’ achievements and countering Russian disinformation about the long-running conflict at their shared border, which began after Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Since the full-scale invasion began, it has begun advising social media users how they can help the Ukrainian cause online.
As well as asking for donations to their military, Ukraine is urging the UK and other Nato members to ramp up sanctions and put boots on the ground.
Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told the BBC ‘we are fighting back with all that we have’ but fears this won’t be enough, adding: ‘We need the utmost support from all Western allies.’
Russian troops and tanks have crossed a major checkpoint at Vilcha which marks the Ukrainian border with Belarus, one of Russia’s few allies in Europe, and lies just two-and-a-half hours from Kyiv.
The Kremlin’s forces have also made headway by pushing up from the Crimea into parts of south-eastern Ukraine still controlled by the pro-European government.
Unverified footage on social media showed a Russian flag being hoisted over the city of Novaya Kahovka in Kherson, where Ukraine’s military earlier admitted they were struggling to resist.
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